WELLINGTON: It’s even more challenging when dementia or Alzheimer’s disease enters the picture.
Now imagine an elderly person with Alzheimer’s and a developmental disability, such as Down syndrome or autism, as well as a behavioural disorder like hoarding.
Those are the types of clients who are served by a nonprofit that runs group homes for developmentally disabled adults. Many of them have multiple problems — not just age-related issues, but also low language skills and obsessive tendencies — that make traditional housing inadequate for their needs.
So the not-for-profit has redesigned one of its group homes. The idea is that differently designed spaces might alleviate some of the residents’ difficulties…
